Hiring & Recruiting

Understanding the Reasons Why Job Applicants Reject Your Job Offer

The average time to recruit a new employee typically ranges between a few days to 4 months. If this wait is not frustrating enough, there are also many instances when people you have hired reject your offer at the last moment, leaving you with no choice but to go back to the job boards.

Source: arka38 / shutterstock

So why exactly does this happen? According to a study published by Hired, business reputation could be a major factor. Titled “Brand Health Report,” the study surveyed tech workers to understand what contributed to, and against, their willingness to take up a job offer.

Here are some interesting results. A lack of interest in the product that your business is building is perhaps the biggest reason that jobseekers turn away. But beyond that, factors such as poor reputation and negative company culture played a significant role, too. This is not surprising, given company culture is one of the factors that the employees were found to consider while applying for a job in the first place.

As an organization looking to hire and retain top talent, here are some tips to make sure that you do not push quality workers away from your recruitment process.

Fix Company Culture

Toxic company culture not only prevents interested workers from applying to your job openings but also pushes your existing employees to quit. Having said that, fixing the company culture at an organization is one of the more difficult things to do. To begin with, establish clear lines of communication between management and workers so that unhappy workers have an opportunity to discuss their issues with the decision-makers.

In addition to this, it is important to focus on work/life balance, fair treatment of employees, minimizing burnout, and frequent feedback to and from your employees. Bridget Miller has an article focusing mainly on this topic that you can read here.

Transparency

Transparency in the recruitment process is quintessential to attracting top talent. You can start with sharing the pay scale up front during the hiring process. As a matter of fact, the Hired report suggests that nearly 62% of jobseekers consider this a reason to engage with an employer. In addition to this, it is also wise for an employer to share other details like the number of interviews that the applicant must go through, the average time it could take for the process to be complete, the amount of travel that might be required for the role, if overtime will be required, and so on.

Keeping the process transparent not only establishes trust and credibility with the applicants but also helps you attract talented people who are passionate about the role.

Competitive Pay

While a great employer brand and company culture will attract a lot of top talent to your recruitment process, it is not enough for them to accept your offer. For this to happen, it is important for your organization to offer competitive pay to your workers. More than half of all employees consider available compensation and benefits while applying to a job. Being transparent about your pay scale and offering one that is competitive ensure you attract top talent to your business.

This may not always be possible, especially if you are a start-up based in places like San Francisco and New York City where workers get paid quite handsomely at the top organizations. In such cases, it is a good idea to offer other attractive amenities like stock options and remote working opportunities to widen the pool and bring in workers from places outside where you are headquartered.

Job applicants’ rejecting your offer is not normal. It is important for recruiters to dig deep when this happens to make sure that your organization is best placed to attract the best workers in your industry.

Anand Srinivasan is the founder of Hubbion, a suite of free business apps and resources.

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